Thanks for the Memories
by goldfish400
Summary: Sharing memories is said to be something only the most closely bonded and the most legendary of duos are able to accomplish. When Moana discovers that she and Maui are compatible, what's one of the first things she does with her ability? She uses it to help him experience the one thing he's spent his entire life forcibly deprived of.


As Moana exits from her _fale,_ she yawns, stretching her arms up towards the sky. When she opens her eyes, she looks up at the sky, and notices that the sun is setting. It's been a long day. She's been up since early this morning fulfilling her duties alongside her father, and now that the sun is going down Tui had told her he thought she'd done enough for today. It took a lot out of her, but it didn't bother her. Not really. She loves her people, and she loves serving them as Chief, so working consistently throughout the day is nothing more than a fair price to pay for her.

Moana reaches up to run her hands through her hair, and hisses in irritation when her fingers curl around a stubborn knot. Rolling her eyes at herself, she turns back into her _fale_ to grab her hairbrush before coming back out with it in her hand. As she brushes out that stubborn knot, she begins to wander around her village for a little bit of sightseeing. Now that the sun is setting, everyone is slowly setting down, ceasing in their work to put it off until tomorrow. Even if Moana's lived on this island her entire life, and no matter how many times she's counted the steps from one end to the other, there's always something really pleasing about Motunui when the sun goes down. Maybe it's the way the sunset always reflects off the water, surrounding the entire island in beautiful shades of oranges and pinks.

Or maybe it's the mountain peak and the way it casts shadows over the village, where people hide to cool from the heat the sun provides even as it sets. Whatever the reason, Moana's not sure, but when she thinks of Motunui, she thinks _home._ And when she thinks of the people, she thinks _family._

As Moana finishes off brushing the knot out of her hair, she finds herself circling back around to her _fale._ Shrugging to herself, Moana heads back inside, places her brush down beside her sleeping mat, and heads back outside. She spares another glance up at the sky, and even though the sun is still casting the last of its rays over the island, Moana can see the stars beginning to peek their way out into the night sky.

At the sight, Moana smiles to herself as she begins to head down to the beach. Instead of heading straight, however, she takes a sharp turn and cuts through the trees, down a little hidden path only she seems to know the location of.

Okay, so not just her. When Moana arrives at her favorite stargazing spot at the end of the trail, there's already somebody else here. A large figure resting back on his hands comfortably as he looks out at the water.

Moana snorts. "You didn't need to wait here for me, you know" she says, and Maui laughs as he turns to face her.

"You know me" he says, and moves over to make room for her. "I'd hate to keep my number one fan waiting" He says, and Moana laughs.

"Really?" She asks, smirking. "You expecting someone new? I thought this was _our_ spot. How could you let someone else in on it?" Moana exaggerates, and laughs some more when Maui turns a glare on her.

"Ha ha, very funny" Maui deadpans, and crosses his arms at her. "I know you look up to me" He says, smirking, and Moana rolls her eyes as she settles herself more comfortably against the shore.

"Mmhm" Moana hums, and returns his smirk with one of her own. "Whatever you say, Sharkhead" she replies, and almost can't help but giggle when he splutters at the nickname.

"Whatever" he grumbles, and in a pattern mirroring her own, he begins to settle himself more comfortably against the sand. "You'll slip up one of these days, _princess",_ He stresses. "I know you admire me in one way or another" He says, and Moana only rolls her eyes, smiling in amusement as she slowly begins to slide backwards until her back is lying flat against the shore.

Apparently taking her smile as an answer he's satisfied with, Maui lies down to copy her position, arm pressed against hers as they watch the stars come out.

Recently, stargazing with Maui after a long day of work has become somewhat of a tradition between the two of them. At first, it had only started out on rare occasions, maybe on the first and last nights when Maui would come to visit. But now that he stays more often than leaves, and he's got his own _fale_ close by hers, it's become something they do much more often. Even when they first started stargazing more often than they used to, Moana quickly found that neither really wanted to stop once they're already started. The two of them would lie side by side on the sand for hours, talking and joking. Sometimes, they wouldn't talk much at all, and just use the time to enjoy each other's company. It was these times, Moana found, that they were more likely to both fall asleep lying in the sand than times they would spend the night talking and laughing.

To avoid this, and to try to save both of them the trouble of spending hours trying to pick the sand out of their hair the next morning, they decided to stargaze more often, thinking it would help rid of that problem. That maybe by spending more time together they'd be okay with spending more time apart.

Only to find that it didn't help.

At all.

"So," Maui says, and when Moana turns her head to look at him his expression looks as if it's softened significantly from that mischievous, joking expression he had on earlier. "How are your 'Chief-ly' duties coming along?" He asks, and Moana can't help but snort as he bounces his head against the sand in a mocking pattern at _chiefly._ He does really want to know, though. Moana can tell.

"Exhausting" she admits, scooting slightly away from him to allow herself to place her hands behind her head without jabbing him in the shoulder. Because it is. She doesn't mind though.

"Huh. Are you doing okay?" he asks, and it takes Moana a few moments to realize what he must mean by that.

"Yeah, I don't mind" She says, craning her neck slightly to send a glance back at her village. "Sure, it's a lot of work, but it's worth it, you know?" She says, and readjusts her position to allow herself to look at the stars again.

"How so?" Maui asks, pushing himself up into a sitting position, and Moana follows suit so she can look at him better.

"Well, for them" She says, gesturing back towards her village. "Sure, it's a lot of work, and it's exhausting, but the thing that makes it worth it is that they're really loving and supportive. They're kind of like a family, you know?" She asks, but Maui doesn't respond. He looks back toward her village, like he is deep in thought, profile turned to her, and the smile he had worn so easily only seconds before is completely faded away, and he almost looks like he's...confused, by her words.

"Maui?" Moana asks, jolting him from his thoughts, and as he turns to look at her the confusion remains plastered to his face. "Maui, do you...do you not know what that's like?"

Maui only stares at her for a few long seconds after that, like he's rummaging through himself for some sort of answer, but then he shrugs, turns his gaze out towards the sea.

"I can't say that I do" Maui says, too casual for Moana's comfort.

That's...awful. Moana's always had people to go to, people to support her when she's down. Even when she's not able to turn to her family directly, she has a whole island full of people who love her enough that she could go to them for anything. They've seen her at her worst, and they've never judged her once for it.

But Maui, her dear best friend- He doesn't have someone like that. He's never had someone he was able to trust with his dark secrets that ate away at him if he went too long without speaking about them. He's never had someone to support him when he's down, when the weight on his shoulders becomes too heavy to carry on his own. He's never had somebody to catch him when he falls. For _thousands_ of years he's been forced to keep to himself because he never had someone who was willing to just sit down beside him to listen.

Except, Moana realizes, for herself. Maui trusts her. He turns to her when he needs advice, or comforting, or just because he wants someone to talk to. He turns to her for support because he needs her. Not only is she his best friend, she's also his support system. The first he's had in his entire life.

"Well," Moana says, and she moves herself away from his side to plant herself in front of him. "Do you _want_ to know what a family's like?" She beams. "Because I'd be more than happy to show you"

A while back, she and Maui discovered that they're able to share their memories with each other while they're pulled into a _hongi,_ foreheads pressed against each other. If they focus hard enough on each other, match their breathing patterns perfectly, they're able to reach this sort of headspace that belongs to not one or the other, but to both of them collectively.

That's not the part that shocked Moana at first. She'd definitely heard of people having the ability in legends she grew up with, of inseparable dynamic duos who were so closely bonded that they were able to share life experiences just by touching their foreheads together. The process didn't faze her at all.

No, the part that shocked Moana is that she and Maui had discovered their ability entirely by _mistake._ They were saying goodbye after one of his earlier visits to Motunui. He had leaned his head down just as she rose hers up to meet his, and when her eyes closed she abruptly found herself back out on the water with Maui. When she realized what was happening she pulled away, stumbled backwards a little bit, and the first thing she was met with when she forced her eyes back open was Maui, staring at her with just as much shock as she's sure she felt.

That's what they got for restoring the heart together, she supposes. A special connection that could bond them even closer.

Maui laughs, then, like he knows exactly where she's going with this. "You're something else, Moana, you know that?" He says, and gestures towards himself like an invitation. Grinning, Moana crawls towards him, and Maui adjusts his position slightly to allow Moana to come closer and so she doesn't have to lean up so much to reach him. In perfect unison, they touch their foreheads together and close their eyes, and in one coordinated move, they breathe in and then out.

Moana _loves_ her family. She doesn't know where she would be without their constant love and support helping her on her way. She can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be deprived of this, to be forced to go without having a family to fall back on when you need it.

So she can't help herself, not really, when she finds herself sharing only the fondest of her memories of her family with Maui.

She's a toddler. Not even four years old. She's crying, the result of a bad nightmare. Her mother is at her side instantly, softly singing her back to sleep.

Her father is teaching her the beginnings of what it will be like to be Chief. She's just a kid, so she can't do any of the hard work yet. He's letting her follow him around and watch him as he goes.

She's with her father again. She's older, and this time he's letting her help. She watches him carefully and follows his every move. After a long day of work, he offers her a coconut to drink from.

She is dancing with Tala on the shore. Moving as one, she, her grandmother, and the ocean all move as once in a three-part dance.

It's downpouring on Motunui. Moana is shivering, tucked away in her _fale,_ pressed closely together on both of her sides by her parents, keeping her warm.

Her grandmother is braiding her hair, whispering stories of her ancestors to her in a quiet voice so only she will be able to hear.

She is stargazing on the beach. Beside her, Tala lays, pointing up at the constellations, telling her that each of them represent-

"Wait" Maui's voice suddenly cuts into her memory. "This actually feels...familiar" He says, and it takes Moana a few solid seconds to realize he probably didn't say that out loud at all. She realizes abruptly that because they're inside their shared headspace that not only are they capable of sharing memories, but they're probably also capable of hearing each other's thoughts.

This catches Moana so off guard so suddenly that her wrists slip forward in the sand, accidentally breaking away from the _hongi_ and pulling both Maui and herself away from the memory.

She scoots backwards so she can look at him. "What was that?" Moana asks, and Maui blinks a few times to readjust himself to his surroundings before he meets her gaze.

"Your family" He says. "I said it felt familiar"

"Yeah? Did it?" Moana asks, smiling. "How so?" She asks, and Maui laughs quietly, more to himself than at her question, and shakes his head.

He smiles fondly at her then. "Well," he says, and flicks his head toward himself. "C'mere. Let me show you" he says, and Moana can't help but grin as she sort of scrambles back over to him. Maui's never talked about having a family, not really, and especially not one apparently filled with just as much love and just as much support as Moana's own.

But Moana knows both from legend and from the snippets of stories he's told her from his childhood that he was raised by the gods.

The _gods._ He could be showing her what it was like to grow up with the _gods._

Sensing her enthusiasm, Maui chuckles at her as she makes her way back towards him. Still smiling fondly, he bows his head down to her, and Moana grins as she leans up to meet him halfway. When their foreheads touch, they close their eyes, and both take a deep breath, in and out.

Moana barely registers the feeling of Maui placing a hand on her shoulder. One moment, there is nothing, and the next, everything shifts. They're deep into his memories, Moana can tell, when she finds that she's looking at…

... _herself._

They're in Lalotai, Tamatoa's cave. Maui is lying on the floor, defeated. He tries to push himself to his feet, but he fails. He drops back down into the sand, too weak to stand on his own. Seconds later, Moana comes rushing to his side, dragging his hook with her. She tosses it to him, more than anything, before she plants herself under his arm. Carefully, making sure not to hurt him, she slings one arm around his back and curls the other around the arm he flung over her shoulder. Together, though slowly, they stand up to their feet. She supports him as they make their way out of Tamatoa's cave, watching his movements carefully.

It's the middle of the night. They're back on their canoe. There are stars all around them and the ocean lay still as she and Maui sit side by side at the edge of the canoe. She's speaking to him softly, encouragingly. Telling him things he hasn't heard in thousands of years. Stuff he should already know. A single sentence of hers rings louder than all the rest, like Maui remembers it the most clearly. As if it's what he considers the most important.

"It is not the gods who make you Maui".

The sun is starting to peak over the horizon. He raises his hook to her, and she blocks his blow with her oar. They're both smiling. Moana returns his blow with one of her own, and this time he raises his hook back up to block it. He jumps to his feet, and back and forth across the deck the two of them spar. They're both laughing.

It's morning. Moana says something to Mini Maui, who somehow communicates what she wants to Maui. With a nervous glance towards her he flashes his hook and pops into a beetle onto the deck of her canoe. Then he changes again and he's a lizard, a shark, a hawk, and finally, a whale.

He jumps back onto the deck of the canoe, returns her high five just as enthusiastically as she gives it. He doesn't seem to realize that he's dropped his hook, or maybe, he has, but doesn't care to pick it back up.

She hands him the oar. He pays careful attention, Moana realizes for the first time, to the heart he carved into the wood before he flips the oar around and hands it back to her.

In perfect unison, they dip their hands in the water to check the currents. Maui sits beside her as she adjusts the sail, helps her when she can't figure out how to get it to catch in the wind. Their arms raise side by side as they measure the stars.

They reach Te Fiti. Maui is too nervous to admit that he's nervous. They make their warrior faces at each other briefly to pump each other up before she reaches into her locket and pulls out the heart to hand it to him.

Te Kā knocks him from the sky. Immediately Moana is racing towards him. He flops back onto the deck of the canoe, pained, and Moana places a comforting hand on his shoulder as she runs the other along his back to check for any severe burns.

He is flying, frantic and panicked, back towards Te Fiti from a location unknown to her. He is praying to the gods to _let her be alive._ He makes a promise to the wind and sea, to the gods themselves, to himself. A promise to _never_ leave her again.

She is climbing up the shore to look for the spiral. Te Kā conjures a fireball to shoot at her. Maui stares Te Kā down in boiling hatred, and if Moana looks hard enough she thinks she can see something protective in his expression. He leaps into the air, and his fish hook shatters to pieces.

Moana shows her face again, after her inability to find the spiral. Maui does not give up. He calls for Te Kā again, and begins to perform a _haka_ for her with one thought and one thought only, repeating over and over in his mind.

 _Keep Moana safe. Keep Moana safe. Keep Moana safe._

They're on Te Fiti, the heart restored. The two of them are talking. She's offering him to come back to Motunui with her. He declines, and pulls his necklace aside. Mini Moana appears over his chest, right beside Mini Maui holding up the sky. Right over his heart. Keeping it safe.

She leaps into his arms. They both grab for the other to pull them closer at the same time-

Wait.

 _Wait._

 _Wait wait wait._

Maui can hear this, hear her protesting, coming to realization. She _knows he can,_ but he's not letting up. Moana can almost swear she can hear him laughing.

A hawk soars over the shores of Motunui. On the sand below, she chases after it, yelling after it to land. There are tears in her eyes. He touches down, and she barely slows as she barrels herself into him.

They're back out on the water. They're both sitting on the deck of their canoe, side by side. Talking. Laughing. Neither of them are caring for the controls, or where their canoe is going. For some reason that's not a concern for either of them.

She's coming into his _fale_ in the middle of the night. She can't sleep. She had a nightmare. For some reason she wants to talk to him specifically. Unfortunately, words fail him, so when she goes to hug him he begins to pet at her hair. In his arms, Moana laughs at the sudden gesture, at the clear awkwardness spreading to both of them. She shoves herself away from him, laughing still, and somehow she already feels much better than she would've with some sort of cheesy motivational speech.

They're walking through the forest. They discover a hidden path, one not even Moana recognizes. They follow it, and discover a small cove closed off from the rest of the beach. Above it, the stars seem to shine brighter than they do anywhere else on the island. She's the first to move to sit down, and she pats at the ground next to her, smiling.

This is _their_ spot now, they claim. Their spot and their spot only.

They're lying against the sand of their cove after a long day. Neither are talking. At a closer look Moana sees that her eyes are closed, fast asleep on the shore beside Maui. He's not asleep, not yet, but it's clear that he's about to lose the little war he seems to be having with his eyelids about keeping them open-

When Moana pulls away from the _hongi_ , there are tears in her eyes.

Maui considers her family. _Her._ For _years_ he's been viewing her the same way she's been viewing her own her entire life, and-

She-

She loves her family more than _anything._ For Maui to hold her _that_ closely, to love her just as much as she does her own- For Maui to consider her _family_ \- The family he never had- That thought alone is enough to bring even more tears to her eyes. She reaches to scrub them away before she returns her attention to Maui. He's watching her carefully. Cautiously. Like he's waiting for her reaction.

"Y'know" he shrugs, trying for casual. "Kind of like that, I guess" he says, and smiles affectionately at her again. Moana wipes at her eyes before rushing towards him again, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"You too" Moana replies instantly, before Maui can do or say anything else. "You're my family too" She says.

Because it's true. When he was sharing his memories with her- _their_ memories, their precious memories, Moana looked at Maui. Really looked.

And when she looked, she found _family._

She found _home._


End file.
